Here's 10 books (approximately) that I've read and re-read:
Writing Down the Bones and Wild Mind by Natalie Goldberg. These are pretty well known in creative writing circles. I have to admit I used them a lot more before I heard Goldberg reading an excerpt from her own novel and thought it was terrible. Those who can do...
Harlan Ellison's Watching. For me just about any book by Ellison is a lesson in writing; I chose this collection of film reviews to represent them all.
The Art & Craft of Playwriting, by Jeffrey Hatcher. I doubt I could have written my first play without this book, and that play did get produced. Sure it was in Tennessee, and I ain't too happy with some of the things they did to it, but it got produced, goddamn it.
The Screenwriter's Bible, by David Trottier. Early last year when I started trying to turn a play of mine into a screenplay, I got every book I could on it from the library. This is the only one I felt compelled to get my own copy of.
Laughing Matters, by Larry Gelbart. I get a lot of inspiration from other writer's memoirs. Like the Ellison, this one by a hero of mine is meant to represent a host of others.
Which Lie Did I Tell? By William Goldman. My favorite of Goldman's nonfiction, for me it is superior to the classic Adventures In The Screen Trade to which it is a sequel.
On Writing, by Stephen King. And late last year when I started trying to turn that play turned screenplay plus a prequel screenplay into a novel, this is the book I wanted to have on hand.
The DC Comics Guide To Writing Comics, by Dennis O'Neil. I don't write comics, I have no expectations of writing comics, but this has been useful for things like structure and subplots.
Oscar-Winning Screenwriters On Screenwriting, by Joel Engel. Maybe the best thing about this book is screenwriters talking about knowing what their gifts are.
And the two West Wing Shooting Scripts books by Aaron Sorkin. Hey, if you don't know I think Sorkin pretty much walks on the water as a writer by now...
2 comments:
I've got Writing Down the Bones, which was okay. I'm sorry but I didn't like On Writing.
Yes, I saw. No need to apologize.
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